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Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Malketh and the Undead: Raven, Romda and Ravai Vol. II by Dave Maruszewski - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Dave Maruszewski and his new book, “Malketh and the Undead: Raven, Romda and Ravai Vol. II,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Dave and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Malketh and the Undead:

Raven, Romda and Ravai

Vol. II

by Dave Maruszewski

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GENRE:   Middle Grade, Fantasy

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BOOK BLURB:

Raven, Romda and Ravai are settling into their new knightly duties well. With the Dark Beast defeated, their normal tasks almost seem mundane.

Amidst the boredom, Ravai asks, “Why does no one talk about villains from the past?”

Romda reasons, “What would be the point?”

There is a point. Even though villains may have been defeated in the past, they may still be around, waiting in the background ready to resurface once again.

Malketh has returned to the kingdom, but something is different about him this time. He is back with an entire army … an entire army of undead soldiers!

“Whether you want to read this aloud to your little one or let them explore this magical world on their own, parents can rest assured that this second installment in the Raven, Romda, and Ravai series will be a playful, whimsical addition to their bookshelves.”

~ The Book Review Directory

“… the squires are appealing characters, as is their comical banter.”

~ Blue Ink Review

A great story for the fantasy loving youth, this adventure will appeal to those who like action and humor in an easy reading environment.

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EXCERPT ONE:

They keep going until they hear a large rumble.  A small mass of rocks fall to the ground.  The three look up and see a gigantic figurine of a man holding a giant emerald.  Romda puts her lantern up to the emerald, and the light refracts and bounces off the many faces such that the whole room is lit.  This brings relief to the three.

Unfortunately, they notice something else.  When the room comes up from the dark, Raven, Romda and Ravai notice all these eyes staring at them.  The undead are here.  The three are surrounded.

Perplexed, Raven, Romda and Ravai freeze.  They are scared.  However, the entire horde of undead does not approach them.  What is wrong with them?  What do they want?

At last, the undead begin to slowly stir.  They begin to walk slowly.  At first they seem to move in random directions.  Then, a pattern to their motion becomes apparent.  They move about, revealing an opening in their numbers in the shape of a small circle.  That opening reveals a hooded figure.  The hooded figure says…

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GUEST POST:

Satisfying Ending?

I’m becoming outdated.  It’s true.  I like a happy ending.  However, with what you watch and read, it is clear that the industry does not favor that.  I think they feel that it has milieu of naiveté.

I get it.  Gray characters can be intriguing.  They can produce unexpected results.  They allow for plot twists to occur easier and with more surprise.

The problem that I have with gray characters is that they often become inconsistent.  A seeming villain turns into a hero.  Then, I wonder how it happened.  Didn’t this person kill someone on page thirty-seven?  Is it now justified, or do we just overlook it?  Many times it is hard to truly explain away the bad behavior of the past chapters.

The other problem comes from an occurrence I’d observed when I used to teach video game design.  In an open sandbox games, players have the freedom to do almost whatever they want.  It can be very inviting and give an atmosphere of creativity.  The problem is that there is no one to guide them.  So, left with their own devices, they meander.  No real conclusions happen.  Hence, a feeling of boredom would often overtake the players.

That is where I worry about today’s story telling.  Without an easy measuring stick to see who is good, bad or ugly, we might meander into making no judgments about how we feel about the ending situation. A book can be exquisitely written, with riveting character interaction and no knockout punch.  Many times, I can even be left with the feeling of “What just happened here?”  I shrug my shoulders and then move on to the next book.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Dave Maruszewski is blessed with a great family.  He was originally inspired to write stories by his wife and son.

He strives to develop stories with sound moral values that will be enlightening as well as entertaining to youths and adults.  The Raven, Romda and Ravai books are targeted especially for children who shy away from reading.  His stories are created from an accumulation of experience from careers/backgrounds as a physicist, engineer, teacher, artist, video game designer and software developer.

In between writing stories and running his own company, Digital Tumult (DigitalTumult.com), Dave enjoys video games, watching internet videos and hanging out with his family.

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CONNECT WITH DAVE:

Website:

https://www.ravenromdaandravai.com

Newsletter:

https://ravenromdaandravai.com/index.php/newsletter

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Dave-Maruszewski-Books-100693982454237

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7tomZ4IBch3ZcIKzNxUKlg

NetGalley Author Page:

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/publisher/84200

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/dave-maruszewski

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/malketh-and-the-undead-by-dave-maruszewski

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21946064.Dave_Maruszewski

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86281595-malketh-and-the-undead

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3HBmpx7

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PRE-ORDER BOOK BUY LINKS & INFO:

**Malketh and the Undead: Raven, Romda and Ravai Vol. II is currently available for Pre-order and will be released on April 18th, 2023**

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3Kdm71X

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3m6Vync

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Malketh-Undead-Raven-Romda-Ravai-ebook/dp/B0BT3FD25L

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Malketh-Undead-Raven-Romda-Ravai/dp/1667880098

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/malketh-and-the-undead-dave-maruszewski/1142993225

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Dave will be awarding a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

19 comments:

  1. The blurb and excerpt sound really good.

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  2. Thank you for having me today!

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  3. Hi Dave. How do you come up with the ideas for what you want your covers to look like?

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    1. Thank you for the question. I usually talk to the designer/illustrator and lay out a color pallet. Since I don't like my main characters defined, I leave them out of the discussion. So, it tends to be villain based. Even with the villain, I like to let the people use their imaginations. Hence, things tend to become shadowy. I like to use picture references as well.

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  4. Thank you for sharing your guest post, bio and book details, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and my teen-aged grandchildren and I are looking forward to reading Malketh and the Undead. What were some of your favorite books/movies/TV shows from this genre when you were growing up?

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    1. Thank you, Bea! I think in some ways, I couldn't find enough epic fantasy when I was younger. Maybe that is why I write it :-) I loved Conan, the comic book. The movies were a little too adult, but to be honest I snuck out and watched those, too. There was something unpredictable about those books. And, even though they didn't have heroes that could be punched through buildings, it was such a wonderfully exotic environment.

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    2. Thank you for responding to my query, I did see the Conan movies but have never read the books, I will have to check those out.

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  5. This sounds like a good book. Thanks for sharing the excerpt

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  6. The book sounds very interesting. Thanks!

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